An ASM International Materials Camp supported by UT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and scientists at CNS Y-12 National Security Complex is giving local students the chance to study debris from the space shuttle Columbia, with an eye on improving materials used in space flight.
“This is a great opportunity for local kids to get involved with materials science and see how it affects a lot of different disciplines,” said Steve Dekanich, senior metallurgist at CNS Y-12 and the leader of this year’s camp. “People can tend to focus on the really specialized things that materials science studies, but the reality is that it plays a part in many things that people don’t realize, from energy to design.”